Dude, Worlds Are Gonna Collide (A Sonic-TMNT Crossover)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The Dark Guardian was by far the worst of the three Dark Gaia Monsters the small team had to face to get into one of the Temples – and this was their last stop. After this they would be free to teleport to the domain of Dark Gaia himself to help the Freedom Fighters detain it.

Shadow leapt out of the path of the Guardian's large battle axe as Omega fired round after round into its chest. Rouge kicked at the monster's head.

It took several minutes and a rather impressive Chaos Blast on Shadow's part, but Team Dark finally conquered the final enemy and hurried to place the last Chaos Emerald – the blue one – into its receptacle. After waiting out the earthquake that followed, Shadow grabbed his companions and warned them to be at the ready. They were about to enter a warzone.

They teleported.

~

Leo sliced at the air futilely, growing more and more frustrated with their continuing failure by the second. This Dark Gaia was expanding ever further into their world, and nothing they did seemed to deter it. It was unhittable, though it could take them out without a problem.

The eldest Turtle turned to his brother. "What do we do, Donnie? We have one job, and we're failing at it!"

Donnie looked around for a moment, then suddenly stopped his backwards momentum when he realized something. "This thing is after us."

"No kidding."

"No – I mean we're its target! The further back we retreat, the more it reaches into our world to get us."

"So if we start running towards it instead..." Leo began, catching on.

"It will have to back up on its end in order to get to us!" Donnie confirmed.

"Well, it's not the best long-term plan, but it's good enough for now. Let's go!"

The Turtles sheathed their weapons and sprinted back the way they'd just retreated. Dark Gaia's arms followed.

~

Sally swiped at creature after creature, never once hitting her actual, intended target of Dark Gaia itself. Cream held on as tight as she could, making sure the princess didn't fall into the darkness below.

Although now it wasn't seeming so dark. The continents had stopped flying around uncontrollably one by one a while ago, no doubt in parallel to the efforts of Team Dark to restore the Temples. Sally took out another monster, then turned to her left when she saw a flash of green.

Team Dark had arrived on the scene, with Omega using his jets to hover in midair and Rouge holding on to Shadow. He located her, gave her the go-ahead signal, and then turned his attention to the battle before him. Sally retracted one of her swords and pulled up her communicator.

"Chip! It's your time to shine. Come out here and do your thing!"

Moments later the tiny form of Light Gaia – known affectionately by the Freedom Fighters as "Chip," – emerged from the Sky Patrol barreling towards the fray, determined to face his dark counterpart head-on. The Mobians around him cleared a path through the smaller creatures for Chip to get to his destination. Once there, he hovered right in front of Dark Gaia's face and threw his arms up, a bright beam of light emanating from him.

Dark Gaia roared at the sudden brightness, recoiling. Its minions rushed to defend their master, but Chip's power was driving them away as well. Everyone cheered.

Tails reached his hands out to Raph and Mikey. "Come on! You have to go back before Kay closes the portals and traps you here!"

The Turtles grabbed each of the fox's hands and marveled at his strength when he hurtled away from Eggman's carrier, towards one of the portals. Behind them the doctor yelled angrily, shouting threats after them. Tails kept his eye on the prize. Almost there...

~

Kay was already marveling at the Turtles' new strategy of running towards Dark Gaia when she noticed that its arms were retreating even more than expected. Something must have been happening on the Mobians' side. She and Karai looked on as Leo and Donnie eventually stopped sprinting altogether to watch the tendrils go back through the Genesis Portals entirely, leaving nothing but their memory in their wake. Leo and Donnie cheered, high-threeing each other. But Kay's eyes were on the now vacant portals.

"Come on, guys," she muttered, knowing that Raph and Mikey were still on Mobius. "Come on. I don't want to trap you there. Come back. Hurry."

~

Sonic the Hedgehog (currently Werehog) stood atop the Sky Patrol, watching his best friend rush to get the Turtles back to their home world safely before Kay induced Chaos Control. The fox screeched to a halt just before flying through the Genesis Portal himself, letting go of his passengers so they could plunge through to the other side. The orange one yelled something, and then they were gone.

The Mobians, Eggman, and Dark Gaia were all where they belonged – every last limb of them. The Turtles and Kay were back where they belonged. The Emeralds were in place. The time was now.

Sonic felt his heart ache in a way he hadn't felt since losing Sally in the previous timeline. He had been there when Tikal prophesized Kay's fate should she choose to accept it. He knew that this would be the end for her. Using Chaos Control would kill her. He bowed his head.

"Goodbye, Kay," he whispered. "And thank you. Thank you."